James and the Giant Peach

Lots better than the movie!!

This is one of my favorite Roald Dahl stories. We often forget the source material when we see the movie, but that said, I think James and the Giant Peach is one of the most consistent adaptations from the Dahl catalogue. What you read in the book is of the closest I've seen on film. Adaptations aside, this one gets top marks for being fun, quirky, creative, smile inducing, sweet, and enjoyable. All the characters are fun and interesting, from the mean aunts to the insect menagerie of companions James has by a fortuitous accident. This is not a book that will ever stress you out and quite often makes you chuckle at the sweet and silly things the insects say. It is also a redeeming journey for James, who had always been told he was worthless, in his journey to showing that he is truly a hero. It's a subtle message but an important one for people of all ages, and for me on a personal note: at times you are a hero or worthless depending on the context and the people who are around you. I think that's an extremely valuable life lesson and something anyone can appreciate. Pacing is fun, writing is very Dahl-ish and it's a book I'd happily re-read for myself or read to a classroom given the opportunity.

That book was awesome! Skibidi toilet! The book was very funny. There were a ton of weird parts, like weird big bugs that talk and do things. The book was very funny. I liked it a lot. There was a lot of bugs in it that made me freak out.

After James Henry Trotter is orphaned due to the whims of a hungry rhinoceros, he is sent to live with his horrible Aunts Sponge and Spiker and is miserable until a local peach grows to the size of the house and James sets off on a great journey. This short book has delightful characterizations: the nasty aunts are REALLY nasty. The other characters are quirky and fun. Jeremy Irons' reading of the audiobook is exceptional. His delivery of Aunt Sponge (with the face that appears to have been boiled) is absolutely perfect. I especially enjoyed catching glimpses of a couple of Dahl's later stories. When The Giant Peach rolls through one town, it breaks through the wall of a chocolate factory: chocolate fills the street and children frolic in it, "sucking it into their mouths in great greedy gulps," evocative of Augustus Gloop gorging himself in Willy Wonka's chocolate river in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which came out three years after James (1961 and 1964). And at the end of the story, a Chief of Police mistakes one of the characters for "a vermicious Knid"; the Knids return as the principal villains of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator over a decade later (1973). If you're buying this for your kids, note that one character does use the word "ass" a couple of times (using it as an insult for another character), two people get run over by a giant peach (thump! thump!), and the book has two Very Nasty Adults. But not ALL the adults are nasty. And this world has some very nasty adults, so there you have it. Don't be an Aunt Sponge OR an Aunt Spiker.

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake is a great book if you want to be entertained, or are starting to read chapter books. This book, published in 1961, is one of the most famous books worldwide to this day. It is a fictional-fantasy story and has a child-friendly plot. I would say the book is good for anyone from 8 to 14 years old. James and the Giant Peach is a very descriptive book and makes it easy to imagine the scenes. This story starts off in London, England, in the countryside in James’s aunt’s house. Later on, James meets bugs inside the peach. The peach then ends up in the Atlantic Ocean and arrives in America. James is the protagonist. His friends are giant bugs named Old-Green-Grasshopper, Centipede, Earthworm, Spider, and Ladybug. Although these bugs can be impatient, they cooperate with James and are friendly to him. James is a curious orphan who was trapped with his cruel aunts for many years. One day, his aunts went to their garden and found an enormous peach on one of the trees. The aunts locked him outside of the house for some time as punishment, and that's when he spotted the giant peach. He examined the peach and found a big hole. Big enough for James to fit in it. He stepped into the hole and found the seed of the peach. The seed of the peach opened. James went inside where he met his future friends. Unfortunately, not after long, the peach started rolling, and rolling, and rolling. And that’s how his adventure begins. James and the Giant Peach is filled with descriptive scenes and vivid words like “hurtled” or “plunged” which makes the book fun to read. It is very easy to imagine and feels like you're in the story itself. This novel is similar to other Roald Dahl books such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Both books are easy to picture and have fun words in them such as “scrumptious”, “delectable”, or “enraptured”. The common theme can be that karma comes around. Even though James was treated poorly by his aunts, he doesn’t become bitter or mean spirited. He still helped out the bugs. This shows that you can help out people and make friends even when it seems like you can’t. The theme of James and the Giant Peach relates to my life when I switched schools in fifth grade. I thought I wouldn’t be able to make friends or have fun. Soon someone did end up making friends with me, and then I had hope about making more friends. In just a little bit of time, I was having a lot of fun during recess and had many friends.

As a volunteer reader to school children, I'm always searching for stories that hold their interest. JAMES and the GIANT PEACH is just the book to grab the little peoples' minds and promote the shining upturned faces that every storyteller loves to see. As James and his larger-than-life insect friends ride a wayward giant peach through many heartstopping adventures, I always sense that each listening child has latched onto the insect with characteristics most similar to their own self image and rides with it, relishing each inventive way their bug contributes to the well-being of all the others. In fact, in my post reading conversation with the students, I ask what insect was the favorite. Each child has a different answer and reason for their selection. It's fascinating to hear each little person describe his or her choice. Mr. Dahl wrote many children's books before his death in 1990, and each of them is a masterpiece of invention, excitement, humor, and scariness that children love to experience. In my opinion, JAMES and the GIANT PEACH, his first children's book after a decade and a half of writing adult stories, is the most appealing, never failing to capture the attention of young listeners and filling their minds with wondrous images. If you haven't read it, do so. If you haven't read it to a child, do that also -- as soon as possible.

The first children's book by the author who was to become the largest - selling children's book author OF ALL ETERNITY ( at least thus far!) .And with a relative minimum of gratuitously violent deaths-which in this book only involved a minimum number of gratuitously violent relatives. Yeah,they had it coming.

Typically, I'm not much of a "re-reader," but this one is an exception for me as it connects back to a few of the last truly happy childhood memories that I have. This was one of the first books I picked up for my new Kindle Fire late last year when Amazon featured a few of Ronald Dahl's books. I'm really glad I picked it up and re-read this one. It was a bit of bright spot for me right now. Ronald Dahl has a very wry and whimsical writing style that won't appeal to all adults. _James and the Giant Peach_ requires the ability to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the outrageous situations, unlikely "critter" traveling companions, and over-the-top villains. If you can suspend adult thinking and just take the story as-it-comes, it's a grand adventure and a lot of fun. I'm really glad I decided to re-read this, even though I don't often re-read books. For parents, yes, in "Dahl fashion" there is a bit of colorful language in this book. Read it first. Or better yet, read it with your kids and use it as an opportunity for discussion. If your child is younger, and you're reading to them, you could always substitute words, I suppose. Kids hear a lot worse in "real life" on network tv nowadays, so don't let that hinder the enjoyment you could get out of the story.

The book is a very nice average-size hardback edition. However, I was quite surprised to open it and see that the entire book has been printed with an orange ink. Or is a PEACH color they are aiming for? I mention this because it is just a bit more difficult on the eyes for reading, especially if your sight is impaired. Otherwise the book is great.

Buena presentación, no viene maltratado, es completamente en inglés y llegó en 7 días aprox. Pasta blanda y hojas delgadas.

Schnelle Zusendung. Typische Roald Dahl Erzählung. Phanatasievoll, trockener Humor, ziemlich schräg

This was a birthday present so I haven't seen it myself, but her parents say it's good

Uma história muito criativa, que resgata muito bem a essência de uma criança. O menino passa por momentos difíceis em sua vida, mas tem um resgate completamente inusitado. Um livro com toque de esperança, e com a magia que a infância pede. De fácil leitura (para quem já domina o inglês), e muito bom para melhorar o vocabulário. Recomendo.